Hope yet for some heritage houses on airport lands

Oshawa This Week

Between a rock and a hard place, Pickering is at least trying to save some of the airport lands houses and this is a good thing.

The City recently approved a staff report calling for 10 properties scheduled to be torn down by Transport Canada to instead be leased by the City. Four would be examined for long-term use by Pickering while six would be held for a short time to see if there is interest from private buyers. The latter include Brophy House at 4355 Brock Road, a classic Ontario frame house at 140 Seventh Concession Road and a unique plank-on-plank home at 5245 Sideline 28.

The price is certainly right as the houses are virtually free. But there is a catch: if you buy one of the houses, you have to move it off of the lands and that's a pricey proposition.

The houses are on federal government lands expropriated decades ago for an airport that's never been built. The ongoing saga of whether an airport will be built and, if not, what is to become of the lands has been the overriding issue in the city.

Time has not been kind to the houses and their condition has deteriorated over the years. Others have simply been demolished. Some of these structures are important pieces of our past. With unique architecture and stories to tell, these are houses that should be preserved.

"I give kudos to the City of Pickering and the people still fighting at that level, but it is cold comfort," said Mary Delaney, a resident of Brougham for more than 30 years and founding member of Land Over Landings, which wants the airport lands turned into a land trust.

"These homes that anywhere else would still be viable are now being torn down and that is a testament to the successive levels of bureaucracy that have destroyed this town."

She says it's been disheartening to watch the beautiful old homes fall into disrepair.

While Pickering taxpayers are on the hook for the costs to protect the 10 properties, an estimated $31,000, in the grand scheme of things this is not a lot of money.

If there is a chance that these homes can be saved, it's well worth the investment.
-- Pickering News Advertiser